Ukraine war
Merz with Macron and Strander on the way to Kyiv
Friedrich Merz is just three days of chancellor and is already breaking up a memorable, perhaps historical journey. It goes east – and he is not alone.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU), together with the French President Emmanuel Macron and the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, is on the move to Kiev. There, the three together with the Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk want to meet Ukrainian President Wolodymyr Selenskyj on Saturday in order to set a sign of continuing support for the country attacked by Russia.
In a joint explanation, they faced the demand of US President Donald Trump during their journey for a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire. It should “create space for discussions about a fair and permanent peace”.
Europe and the USA are pulling together again for the first time
The United States and Europe for the first time since Trump took office in the efforts to end the war in Ukraine seem to pull together again – at least in this one point. In the past few months, Trump had tried to end the war. So far he has been unsuccessful. Trump had massively put Selenskyj under pressure to make concessions to Putin. The Europeans, on the other hand, warned of a dictation peace.
In the declaration, the Europeans now make it clear that a regional ability from Ukraine to Russia are out of the question for them. “Russia has to end its illegal war of aggression and Ukraine must be able to develop as a sovereign nation in its internationally recognized borders, even for future generations.”
They also ensure further military aid to Ukraine in order to maintain the “ongoing barbaric and violent invasion” of Russia. “We will further expand our support for Ukraine. As long as Russia does not agree to a permanent ceasefire, we will further increase the pressure on Russia’s war machine.”
Merz prepared for a visit to Trump on a phone call
Merz had prepared the visit on Thursday on his first phone call to US President Donald Trump. The Chancellor informed the American President about the joint explanation and he was benevolent, it was then said from Merz ‘environment. Trump then tightened the tone towards the Russian President Vladimir Putin on the Truth portal and threatened to sanctions if Russia refused to rest.
Merz joined the threat of sanctions during his visit to Brussels on Friday. “The ball is now in Moscow, nowhere else,” he said. He added to the schedule for a ceasefire: “I have the great hope that there will be an appointment over this weekend for an armistice in Ukraine.”
Memories of Scholz trip are awake
The Ukraine visit by Merz, Macron, Strander and Tusk is the first in this formation. He commemorates a similar journey by Merz ‘predecessor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in June 2022. Scholz drove to Kiev with Macron and the then Italian Prime Minister Draghi. For the first time, the three stood together behind the EU accession candidate of Ukraine and thus cleared the way for it. The pictures of the three from a meeting room in the special train have their permanent place in the history of the Ukraine war.
dpa
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
